However, he accepted that dozens of thousands of unskilled foreign labourers, mainly Asian, are working in the country. He said:

“We have known about this situation and the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs has combined with competent agencies to check it. I directly went to Quang Ninh and Hai Phong (where there are many unskilled foreign workers) to survey.

I must say that there are large numbers of unskilled foreign labourers working there without work permits. For instance, there are as many as 2,000 foreign workers at a construction site in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong sometimes.

According to reports by provincial and municipal Departments of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs and based on the number of work permits granted, there are more than 50,000 workers from 40 countries, mainly Asian, in Vietnam. Of this number, around 70% are licenced. The remaining are unskilled workers who have come to Vietnam on tourist visas.

Is it illegal to work in Vietnam with a tourist visa?

The Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs only grants work permits to skilled foreign labourers. Vietnam doesn’t allow the use of unskilled foreign workers in Vietnam.

But thousands of unskilled foreign workers are working in Vietnam, is that right?

The point of view of the state and the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs is always protecting domestic workers. About the above situation, I think that competent agencies have to take action to detect violations and to deal with them under Vietnamese laws.

It is a breach of Vietnamese rules when contractors bring unskilled foreign workers into Vietnam. This fact also shows the inattention of local authorities.

Is there any rule about the ratio of foreign workers in each project?

Previously, there was a regulation that in each project, the percentage of foreign workers could not be higher than 3%. But hired foreign labourers must be skilled ones. This regulation has been annulled. Anyways, unskilled foreign workers are not licenced to work in Vietnam.

Is the fault of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs?

We are very anxious, but the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs only licences skilled foreign laborers to work in Vietnam. For unskilled ones, we have asked the government to deal with it.

Conditions for foreigners to work in Vietnam

According to Decree 34/2008/ND-CP, businesses can hire foreigners who meet the following conditions: at least 18 years old, meeting health conditions for the jobs they apply for, being managers, executive directors, experts or foreigners who come to Vietnam to work in the fields of health, education and vocational training (skilled workers), and these people must have work permits granted by Vietnamese competent agencies.

In some cases, foreigners don’t need to have work permits, such as foreigners who work in Vietnam less than three months; but they must be skilled, have job certificates and have work experience in some fields.